Cyber Insurance 101
Cybercrime is an increasing threat to businesses of all sizes, with attacks ranging from phishing scams to ransomware. Traditional insurance policies, such as Commercial General Liability, often do not cover these risks.
Cyber insurance helps protect businesses from financial losses, reputational damage, and the costs of responding to a data breach.
Types of Cyberattacks
Criminal hackers continually develop new techniques to target organizations. Some of the most common methods include:
Denial of Service (DoS) Attack: Flooding a website with excessive traffic, making it inaccessible to legitimate users.
Phishing: Impersonating a trusted organization to trick users into taking unsafe actions, such as opening a malicious attachment or clicking a harmful link.
Malware: Malicious software that takes control of a device, monitors user actions, or sends confidential data to the attacker.
Ransomware: Encrypts files to block access and demands payment for recovery. These attacks often follow a phishing click or visit to a compromised site.
Spoofing: A cybercriminal pretends to be another user or device to steal information, spread malware, or bypass access controls.
Brute Force: Attempts to crack passwords by testing numerous combinations as quickly as possible.
Six Questions to Consider When Buying Cyber Insurance
How many records containing personal information does your organization retain or access?
How many records containing sensitive commercial information does your organization retain or access?
What security controls can be implemented to reduce the risk of a system compromise?
Do all portable media and computing devices need to be encrypted?
How is unencrypted media managed when in the care, custody, or control of third-party service providers?
Could you make a claim if a cyber intrusion goes undetected for months or even years?
What Can Cyber Insurance Cover?
Regulatory Defense Expenses: Civil fines related to regulatory proceedings following a privacy or network security breach.
Legal and Civil Damages: Costs of legal representation and damages resulting from a privacy or network security breach.
Security Breach Remediation and Notification Expenses: Costs to notify affected parties and manage the breach.
Crisis Management Expenses: Public relations expenses to protect the organization’s reputation.
Forensic Investigation Expenses: Costs of hiring a breach response firm to identify and address the incident.
Computer Program and Electronic Data Restoration: Expenses to restore or recover damaged or corrupted data caused by a breach, denial-of-service attack, or ransomware.
E-commerce Extortion and Reward Payments Coverage: Covers the cost of professional negotiators and potential ransom payments.
Business Interruption and Additional Expenses: Compensation for lost income and extra costs due to service interruptions.
Cyber threats are real, and no business is completely immune. Protect your organization with the right cyber insurance coverage. Contact Miller Insurance Brokers today to review your existing policies, assess your cyber exposure, and ensure your business is fully protected against modern digital risks.